Archive for the ‘Swim News’ Category

J Bay swimmers at Redhouse River Mile

February 21, 2012

Congratulations to all the swimmers who took part in the Redhouse River Mile. Mally Richards swam his 59th Mile, while Brenton Williams became the first man ever to complete the Mile swimming butterfly. Caro de Jager came 9th in the women’s race.

Phil Weddel, Danie Rautenbach, Seth, Erin and Rencke de Swart as well as Malan Steenkamp all swam the Mile.
The next open water swim event is on 4 March at Marina Martinique. Entries can be done online at  www.ecswim.co.za

Rotary Swim-a-Thon

Join us at Training Edge Gym on Saturday 25 February at 1 pm for the Rotary eradicate polio campaign and help set a world record in the process.

Entry fee is R 50 and all you have to do is swim 100 m to become part of the attempt to have the most swimmers completing a 100 m swim in a hour across the world.

We encourage all our swimmers to come and join in this initiative on Saturday at the Gym.

The pristine canals of Marina Martinique - home of the JBay Swim and the Marina Mile swim event. The Mile now forms part of an expanded EP Open Water Swim Series.

Marina Martinique Swim

Following a number of complaints about the early morning swim training, we have had to make the following changes:
From March we will be swimming on Tuesday and Thursday in the evenings at 6 pm. We will still be meeting at the gate as usual.

Swimmers may still swim on other days between 4.30 pm – 6.30 pm from Kingston Place flats. All swimmers are welcome to join JBay Swim and attend our training sessions at Marina Martinique. They will need to pay a registration fee of R 300 which will entitle them to a JBay Swim t-shirt and swim cap.

Application forms can be obtained from Isabeau Joubert reception at JBay Dentist in Schelde Road.

C League Gala

There is a C league gala at the Sunridge Park Primary School in Port Elizabeth on Saturday 25 February. All swimmers who have not taken part in a B league gala may swim in this event. Please be at the Sunridge pool by 8 am at the latest to enter.

Swim fees

Please note that swim fees are payable in advance. There was an extraordinary amount of bad debt in 2011 and all parents and swimmers are urged to play the game and pay when the invoice is received.
Money can be deposited by EFT and please use the swimmers name as reference.

See you in the water!!

Lots of swim action in Jeffreys Bay

February 8, 2012

It has been a busy start to the year for Jeffreys Bay swimmers with Caro de Jager and JC van Wyk both being selected for the Eastern Province Open Water Swim team. De Jager and Van Wyk are the current EP 1 km champions after winning the event at the EP Champs at Marina Martinique last weekend.

J’Bay swimmers will also be taking part in the Rotary Global swimathon which will take place at the Training Edge gym on 25 February. Everyone is welcome to join in and swim 100 m to become part of an effort to make the Guinness Book of Records for the most people swimming 100 m at one time.

Entry forms can be obtained from the Gym and 6 lucky swimmers stand the chance of winning a R 1000 voucher from Training Edge which includes a free gym membership and personal training advice.

There are a few slots still open for children who need to learn how to swim. Lessons take place in an indoor heated pool at the Training Edge Gym. Find out more information by emailing kougaswim@vodamail.co.za

SA extreme swimmers to cross Bering Straight

December 10, 2011

Ram Barkai, Kieron Palframan, Ryan Stramrood and Andrew Chin are South African open water swimmers who became the first men to swim around the tip of South America.

Ram Barkai is a cold water swimmer from Cape Town.

Together with Toks Viviers, they did three swims in rough water, against strong currents and in water between 3.9°C and 8°C.

The three swims were: 4.5 K across the Strait of Magellan, 3.2 K double crossing of the Beagle Channel and 2.5 K around Cape Horn.

The South African cold water specialists will be joined by the following swimmers in their next cold water expedition:

Rafal Ziobro (Poland), Zdenek Talmicka and Petr Tomasek (Czech Republic), Jack Bright (United Kingdom), Nuala Moore and Anne Marie Ward (Ireland), Alexander Brylin (Russia), Paolo Chiarino (Italy) and Anna-Carin Nordin (Sweden) have all committed to the 86 K (53 mile) relay crossing of the entire width of the Bering Strait.

The Bering Straight separates Russia from the America’s and the water will be below 4 degrees Celsius for the swim.

The crossing is planned for 18 July – 10 August 2012. The swimming relay starts on the Cape Dezhnev (Russia) and finishes on the Cape Prince of Wales (USA)

How cold is cold?

December 1, 2011

There are two main frontiers in the world of open water swimming. One of those frontiers is how far can be swam and the other is how cold can the water be.

In South Africa, the cold debate was largely irrelevant outside of Cape Town but with more and more swimmers attempting swims like Robben Island, the question of how cold is cold has become increasingly topical.

Since open water swimming starting in Jeffreys Bay in the mid 1990′s, perceptions about how cold is cold have changed quite dramatically.

For many years open water swimming stopped towards the end of March when the canal water temperature dropped below 20 degrees C and only started again in October, once the 20 degree mark was breached.

That all changed in 2011 as Jeffreys Bay swimmers began training for Robben Island swims and suddenly water of 12 – 13 degrees C was sought after, with swimmers coming through from Port Elizabeth to swim in the chilly canals.

13 degree water at Marina Martinique in winter.

Daily News of Open Water Swimming reported on a poll conducted among open water swimmers about how cold is cold. The results were:

Under 5ºC (41ºF) – 0%
Under 10ºC (50ºF) – 7%
Under 12.5°C (54.5°F) – 14%
Under 15°C (59°F) – 20%
Under 17.5°C (63.5°F) – 24%
Under 20°C(68°F) – 15%
Under 22.5°C (72.5°F) – 17%

Phelps on the come back trial

March 4, 2011

The greatest swimmer in the world, Michael Phelps has signaled his intentions with some powerful performances at the Indianapolis Grand Prix gala currently taking place in America.

He won the 200 m Freestyle in 1:46.27 and the 100m Butterfly in 51.75. Both these times are the fastest in  the world in 2011 for these events.

Michael Phelps swum a 51.75 for the 100 m Fly

Phelps took a break from swimming following the 2008 Olympic Games and got back into serious training last year in a build up to the London Olympics next year. From the form shown a year out from the Games, Phelps will undoubtedly be a medal contender come business time in 2012.

“I said to myself if I was under 1:47 in the 200 free, I’d be really happy, and when I saw 46.2, it kind of surprised me a little bit,” Phelps said. “It was the best time in the world, so I’ll take it. I’m definitely happy.

“My freestyle has been connecting a little bit better than it has in the past, so that’s one thing I’m really happy with. The only thing I’m kind of upset with in my fly was my finish. I try not to have finishes like that, because I know how important they are.

“I know there are some things I can still change, but for the most part, I know I’m heading in the right direction. I’m pretty confident.”

Follow this gala at USA Swimming

Michael Phelps freestyle

March 3, 2011

Michael Phelps is the best swimmer of this generation, if not of all time. His achievements at the 2008 Olympic Games are well documented and will be difficult to match ever again.

Yet, from a pure swimming perspective, Phelps has been part of a revolution regarding the way freestyle is being swum. This was clearly demonstrated in the 200 m Freestyle at the Beijing Olympics where Phelps used a hybrid stroke that incorporated hip driven and shoulder driven freestyle.

The old way of 3 strokes and breathe has also been done away with and the top swimmers in the world mostly favour a 2 stroke and breathe technique.

Learn to Swim @ Training Edge Gym

February 27, 2011

The year has got off to a flying start with lots of new swimmers and old back to the pool for an exciting year of Learn to Swim at the Training Edge gym in Jeffreys Bay.

Some of our little swimmers even tackled the Bank to Bank swim at the Steers Marina Mile. Aiden De Villiers had a great swim and is looking at winning his first ever bank to bank title at the next event on 26 March at Marina Martinique.

There are very few gaps open for Learn to Swim so email kougaswim@vodamail.co.za if you still want to enter the programme this term.

Marina Open Water Swim dates

September 30, 2010

Date have been announced for the EP Open Water Swim Series that will take place at Marina Martinique, starting Sunday 3 October.

The dates for the 2010/11 Series are:

  •  3rd October : 5km, 3km, 1km, 500m swims
  • 30/31st October : 10km, 5km, 3km, 1km, 500m swims
  • 27/28th November : 10km, 5km, 3km, 1km, 500m swims
  • 22 December: 25 km and 10 km 
  • 23 December 5km, 3km, Marina Mile, 500m, bank to bank swims
  • 5/6th February : EP CHAMPS 10km, 5km, 3km, 1km, 500m swims
  • 26/27th March : 10km, 5km, 3km, 1km, 500m swims

Bank to bank swims will be held for all the above swims as well. Open water training will start as soon as the canals are warm enough.

Total Immersion butterfly

April 25, 2010

The Kouga Swim Club is  moving towards the Total Immersion way of swimming. Check out the butterfly philosophy in this video.

New Swim Swim Suit rules released by FINA

April 20, 2010

Starting from the  01 June 2010 for FINA sanctioned open water swimming events, the following rules apply:

SWIMWEAR

8.1 All FINA approved swimwear to be used at the Olympic Games and FINA World Championships must be approved by FINA at least 12 months prior to the start of the respective competition. In addition, it must be available for all competitors by 1st January of the year of the Olympic Games or FINA World Championships.

8.2 In swimming competitions the competitor must wear only one swimsuit in one or two pieces. No additional items, like arm bands or leg bands shall be regarded as parts of a swimsuit.

8.3 From January 1st, 2010 swimwear [for pool swimming competitions] for men shall not extend above the navel nor below the knee, and for women, shall not cover the neck, extend past the shoulder, nor shall extend below knee. All swimsuits shall be made from textile materials.

8.4 From June 1st, 2010, open water swimwear for both men and women shall not cover the neck, extend past the shoulder, nor shall extend below the ankle. All open water swimsuits shall comply with the FINA Criteria for Materials and Approval Procedures.


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.